Fylde 96
Fylde Borough purchased 18 Leyland Atlantean new between 1975 and 1984. Atlantean 96 was the 13th of these buses. Starting in 1979, the company acquired the last seven in single batches. They licensed 96 on April 30, 1980, and it entered service the following May. Like most of its sisters, it arrived in the standard blue and white livery. This scheme featured a mustard yellow waistband.
Early Changes and Livery Evolution:
Fylde repainted the bus in October 1983. It then adopted a revised scheme. Blue replaced the yellow waistband in this new livery. The company likely completed a second repaint in late 1986. At this time, it was rebranded with “Blue Buses” fleet names, replacing the original “Fylde Borough” identity.
A significant change took place in February 1989. The bus received the new corporate livery. This scheme used light blue with a dark blue roof, windows, and skirt. A white stripe accented the area beneath the lower deck windows. GM Buses painted 96 to help accelerate the fleet update. From 1990 to 1992, the rear carried sign-written adverts. These promoted Steel Appeal railings (upper deck) and DJ Baird Windows (lower deck).
Absorption by Blackpool Transport:
In March 1994, Fylde repainted the offside and rear. They applied a promotional livery for the Sandcastle Waterpark. 96 was one of the last buses to use the 1989 scheme. It briefly ran with the advert on the side/rear and the older livery on the front/nearside. Fylde then treated these sections to the new, mainly light blue livery. This scheme had a dark blue skirt and roof bank. Partial adverts were common at Fylde then. In July 1995, both sides and the rear were updated. This new scheme advertised the World of Coronation Street at the Sandcastle. By this time, Blackpool had acquired Fylde. The bus front carried the new blue and cream Blackpool scheme.
Blackpool Transport fully absorbed Fylde in July 1996. They renumbered 96 to Blackpool Transport 496. The company repainted it into the standard green and cream livery later that year. In August 1998, they retrimmed its seats. It received the grey-based moquette used on the Delta fleet. It ran from Squires Gate depot until the facility closed in April 1999. Its final duty there was a school service on March 17th. It then moved to Rigby Road Depot. They withdrew it permanently at the end of the school term in July 2000.
Preservation and Current Status:
The bus remained in storage for a period. Local radio newsreader Andy Mitchell purchased it in April 2001. By December 2001, he had repainted it back into the original Fylde livery. In 2005, it received a ‘what if’ livery. This was a blue-based adaptation of the Blackburn Transport style. Michael Morton, former Fylde director and co-owner, managed Blackburn.
Mitchell sold 96 in 2010. It moved to Whyndyke Farm at Marton. There, a paintballing business utilized it. New owners acquired it in 2014, initially for spares. They soon deemed it worthy of salvation, however. It has since regained a set of seats. The bus is now undergoing restoration for a return to use. It is currently part of the collection at the Town and District Transport Trust.